


Where We've Been

by crgb1234



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, High School, M/M, Melancholy, Tissue Warning, chanyeol is confused, everyone loves baekhyun, possible trigger warning, strong angst for a minute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:47:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23570071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crgb1234/pseuds/crgb1234
Summary: Guardian angel Chanyeol was exhausted. It was hard for him to chase his ward so much.This Baekhyun kid skipped school & skateboarded all over the city. Ever since his boyfriend died he was obsessed with visiting everywhere they'd ever been.Places Chanyeol found familiar.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	Where We've Been

**Author's Note:**

> This is the result of a prompt created from pictures that showed up on my Twitter timeline within 24 hours of each other. This story is cross posted in AFF, and the pictures are combined to make the cover art for the story. Both pictures took my breath away and I couldn't help linking them in my brain. I ended up with a spurt of creativity that turned into this story, so I hope everyone likes it! 

Park Chanyeol hadn't been a guardian angel for long.

The exact amount of time wasn't clear, but time wasn't a specific measurement in the afterlife so he wasn't really sure. And he wasn't really sure that "guardian angel" was his actual title, either. He had been drifting in the afterlife, and nobody really talked to each other there. He HAD figured out right away that he could read other's thoughts in the afterlife if he wanted and also understand what was being said in the human world, so he wasn't bored.

But then Chanyeol saw this human kid and felt a strange obligation to him, so maybe he was assigned to him or something? Chanyeol wasn't sure. What he DID know was that it was exhausting work. How long had it been? He wasn't sure of that either. He did know it felt like forever that he had been following his ward around all over the city.

Byun Baekhyun was his name. He was a senior in High School and he was supposed to be in class. But he wasn't. Instead, he had taken an old skateboard, skipped all his classes, and gone to all sorts of different places in the city instead.

And Chanyeol felt compelled to follow him.

Everywhere. 

It wasn't like the kid had a death wish or anything. He didn't go trying to find trouble or talk to people of questionable nature. He used his manners with the older folks when they spoke to him, and he was careful to watch the traffic and not get hurt on the skateboard. He went home every evening in time for dinner. But he seemed to be on a mission.

Chanyeol noticed Baekhyun always waited till there were very little people around before he would start talking. And he would start almost all his sentences with "Remember when we used to come here?" It was strange. Chanyeol didn't know who the kid was talking to, but he seemed to be having one-sided conversations almost everywhere he went. 

Chanyeol had first started following Baekhyun right after he had taken an old skateboard out of the groundskeeper's storage shed adjacent to the apartment complex where he lived. The angel noticed there were red streaks on the kid's face as though he had been scrubbing his face just before that. This was a little strange, but then Baekhyun had started speaking out loud as he gripped the skateboard tightly. 

" _I need to show you things. I need you to remember. Please. I need you to remember!_" 

There was no one out there at the shed with Baekhyun, so it seemed odd for him to be making such an impassioned plea out loud. Chanyeol was caught off guard, still wondering about these things when he noticed the kid seemed to come to a decision. He squared his shoulders, placed the skateboard down, put his foot on it, and kicked off, rolling swiftly away from the apartment complex and down the street. And Chanyeol followed him.

What started as curiosity fed by a sense of obligation would eventually turn into a marathon for the angel.

Chanyeol drifted along after the kid, keeping his eyes peeled for danger as they went. He was determined to be an excellent guardian angel.

The first place they stopped was a coffee shop just over 4 blocks away from the kid's home. Baekhyun went in, holding his skateboard carefully under his arm as he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. Chanyeol watched from outside. The angel figured the kid would be ok for a bit, and he was enjoying the breeze as it swayed the leaves in the trees of the neighborhood. It wasn't long before the door to the coffee shop chimed as Baekhyun came back out, carrying the skateboard on one side and a Venti-sized coffee with his free hand. There was a sound of someone inside the shop calling Baekhyun's name, but he didn't pay them any attention. Chanyeol watched as the kid went over and leaned against the side of the guttering at the corner of the building, taking a short sip of the coffee through the straw. He made a face at the flavor, but then let out a short laugh that sounded suspiciously like a sob. The skateboard clattered a little as he placed it on the ground, but he didn't start to ride it. Instead he put one foot on it and pushed it back and forth a little as he took another sip of the drink. The face he made at the second sip made Chanyeol chuckle.

" _Remember when we used to come here?_ " The angel startled when Baekhyun suddenly started to speak out loud even tho no one else was around. " _I've never liked the cold brew you always order. It's not sweet enough for me, but I know you like it because it's only slightly sweet anyway. You told me once it's just like you, but I know better. You're way sweeter than this._ " The kid let out another short laugh. Chanyeol was almost sure there was a sob in there somewhere but he didn't have time to think about it much before he noticed Baekhyun had pushed off, rolling away on the skateboard. He rushed to chase after the kid. 

Chanyeol watched the kid on the skateboard as he lumbered after him. The breeze blowing through his hair made it dance in the mid-morning sunlight. Chanyeol couldn't help wondering if it was a soft as it looked, so he hurried to get closer and almost reached out to try to touch it before he realized what he was doing. " **Idiot. You won't be able to feel it.. what are you doing?** " he said to himself. 

Eventually the kid slowed down as he continued to skateboard through a large park with winding paths. He occasionally brought the straw up to his mouth and sipped from his drink as he went, making a small grimace each time and making Chanyeol chuckle. Finally Baekhyun stopped at one of the turns in the path and picked up the skateboard. He walked up a short hill to a bench and sat down with the skateboard across his lap.

" _Remember when we used to come here?_ " This time the angel only jumped a little. " _You always say it's the best spot in the park. Sure there are a lot of trees blocking the view, but you showed me that if we lean all the way over to the left it's the perfect spot to see the doggie-daycare hut and the lake at the same time. We sat here for hours on summer break. The best day was when the golden retriever and the dalmatian both got loose and went for a swim while the owners stood on the bank yelling. We laughed so hard at that. And it was free entertainment for everyone watching._ " Chanyeol was already chuckling a bit from the impromptu story, so when the kid took another sip and then grimaced again, the angel couldn't help laughing heartily. Baekhyun froze and then suddenly whipped his head around as though searching. His eyes looked pained and glistened suspiciously, but then he chuckled and ducked his head down, his free hand coming up to wipe aggressively at his face.

Chanyeol watched as the kid sighed deeply and then took another sip of the drink. The grimace wasn't quite as strong but still there. The angel didn't feel like laughing this time.

The kid and the angel spent a long time sitting on the bench at the park. The angel decided he really liked it there and made a mental note to come back again sometime to enjoy the view and the breeze as it rippled across the little lake in the center of the park. He couldn't see most of the lake, but for some reason he knew it wasn't very big. Baekhyun was quiet most of the time, sometimes humming a familiar tune and occasionally running his hand over the bench to the left of him, almost in a caressing manner. Chanyeol went over to the other side of the bench, looking at it closer to see what the kid was doing, but there wasn't anything special about the wood of the bench. He did finally notice there were initials carved in the seat on the area the kid was rubbing, but before the angel could look at them closer, Baekhyun stood up and was leaving the area. Chanyeol chased after the skateboarding kid, forgetting about the bench as he watched the hair bouncing in the wind again. 

They went past the doggie-daycare hut. Baekhyun waved at the concerned-looking guy behind the desk as the fellow called out his name, but he didn't stop. They left the park and came out onto the city streets.

As he kept up with the fast-moving skateboarder that was weaving in and out of the few pedestrians on the sidewalks, Chanyeol felt himself getting a little winded. This was strange, since he didn't think he should be getting tired being an angel, but before he could dwell on it too much the kid slowed down and then stopped to wait for a traffic light at a busy intersection. As soon as the light changed to show it was safe to cross, he kicked off again and Chanyeol followed close behind him. 

They came to a stop in front of a drugstore. The area seemed familiar to the angel but he couldn't quite figure out why. Chanyeol watched as the kid sipped the last of the coffee thru the straw and then held the cup, just looking at it as he swallowed the bitter liquid. There was very little grimace on his face by now and he sighed deeply before tossing the empty cup into the trashcan at the side of the front door to the drugstore. Chanyeol wondered about the sigh but he didn't have time to think about it long as Baekhyun picked up the skateboard and carried it under his arm as he entered the store.

The angel watched thru the glass of the storefront as the kid made his way over to the candy section and picked out a round lollipop. A store worker stopped him and gave him a hug. Then the kid took the candy up to the cashier and paid, putting his wallet back into his back pocket again before waving at the cashier and walking out the front of the store. Baekhyun put the skateboard back down and balanced one foot on it as he took the wrapper off the lollipop and threw it in the trashcan. Chanyeol almost wasn't surprised when instead of putting the lollipop in his mouth, the kid began to speak again. 

" _Remember when we used to come here?_ " Baekhyun held the lollipop up, looking at it. " _You know I love these watermelon-flavored lollipops so we came here once a week to make sure I could get one. Even though you always said they make my kisses taste funny... But you kissed me anyway_." This time, the chuckle didn't camouflage the sob quite so well. The kid vigorously wiped at his face with his free hand and then popped the lollipop in his mouth. He savored the flavor a few minutes and Chanyeol found himself looking at the lips that were stretched around the candy and starting to glisten from the spit accumulating. He wondered if they tasted like the kiss like Baekhyun had described. He felt a little overheated in the moment, but then the kid pushed off and Chanyeol was chasing after him again. 

This time they made their way a little more leisurely thru the streets. An outdoor florist called out to Baekhyun at one point and he stopped briefly to get a hug and accept the painted daisy the florist insisted on pushing into his hand. A couple blocks further a gas station mechanic called out to the kid and he raised his hand with the flower in greeting as he rolled by. They came up to the city library and Chanyeol found himself counting along with Baekhyun as he deliberately start tapping the tops of the railing posts and then stopped at the seventh one next to some side steps and an adjacent trashcan. He sat down and Chanyeol held his breath, waiting for what he knew would be another explanation. 

" _Remember when we used to come here?_ " The kid suddenly crunched the last of the lollipop off of the flimsy stick and then sat in silence, twiddling the stick between his fingers. The angel felt anxious. " **What did you do here? Please tell me!** " He knew the kid couldn't hear him, but he felt Baekhyun might respond if he only asked. " **Why do I want to know what you did here...? Why does everyone keep hugging you..? I wish you could hear me..** " 

The kid suddenly sighed loudly. " _I can almost hear you nagging me. The first day we met I was hanging out on these steps and skipping school, just like today. Since you had just moved to town that day you weren't in school either and you begged your mom to be allowed to come to the library. You big nerd._ " Baekhyun scoffed affectionately. He turned and tossed the stick into the trashcan. " _You scolded me for skipping and then we sat here and talked for 3 hours that day. You never stepped one foot into the library until 3 weeks later for our school research field trip._ " 

Chanyeol found he was smiling widely for some reason and nodding along to the story. He looked at the kid as the sun glistened off his soft-looking hair. The reddened lips looked a little chapped now but still rosey and very attractive. " **Wait- what? Why do I think these things? Angels don't feel attraction.. do they?** " 

As the angel pondered, the clock on the library chimed and the kid suddenly stood up, surprised. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and sent a quick text, then turned the skateboard around and pushed off in the direction they had just come, detouring a little here and there as they made their way back thru the city. He suddenly stopped at a bus-stop as a bus came rolling up. Baekhyun picked up the skateboard and Chanyeol had to rush to get on board in time with the kid before the bus took off again. The kid stayed quiet the entire ride. After about 15 minutes he went to the front of the bus with his wallet out and when the bus stopped he showed his bus pass and got off, still carrying his skateboard with the angel trailing behind him. The skateboard was put into use once more and they made their way around the corner back to the apartment complex and the storage shed. Baekhyun carefully placed the skateboard back in the shed where he had originally found it piled in with a rake and some well-used yard equipment. Then he went into the apartment building, leaving the angel in front of the shed, thinking about their trip around the city that day.

The next day started the same way.

Baekhyun came out to the shed mid-morning and got the old skateboard. He left, heading for the same coffee shop and made the same purchase as the day before. This time before leaving he hugged the barista and then left immediately without telling any story out loud. Chanyeol hurried to keep up, already a little worn out.

Instead of going to the park they ended up outside a vintage record store. The angel expect the kid to go inside but instead he headed down a little alley to the side of the store and some steps next to a side entrance. Baekhyun sat on the steps, balancing both feet on the skateboard and sliding it back and forth while he sipped his bitter drink. He grimaced with each sip and Chanyeol found himself smiling affectionately. 

" _Remember when we used to come here?_ " The angel jumped a little but listened attentively. " _You always loved to go thru the old records. I used my stopwatch on my phone and would time you for exactly 20 minutes and you find the strangest album you can and then buy it. Afterwards we always sit out here and talk about what we think the songs might sound like. Neither of us have a record player but we just knew._ " The chuckle with the sob was back. Chanyeol found himself wishing he could rub Baekhyun's neck. He knew it would bring comfort to the kid better than just a hug. The sound of slurping through the straw brought the angel back out of his reverie and he enjoyed the slight shake of the head along with the grimace on the kid's face. " **So fucking cute! Wait- what..**?" 

Chanyeol was shocked that he could cuss since he was an angel, but then suddenly realized that while he was thinking these things the kid had gotten up and was kicking off on the skateboard again. The angel rushed to keep up. Once again Baekhyun weaved in and out of the foot traffic on the sidewalks, making his way across the city.

About 3 blocks down from the record store they stopped at a bakery where Baekhyun went in and bought a large powdered doughnut. Chanyeol watched thru the window as the clerk came around the counter to give Baekhyun a hug before letting him leave the shop. The kid came out the door with his drink in one hand and the doughnut wrapped in a paper napkin in the other, scooting the skateboard along the ground carefully with his foot. He continued to scoot it along the edge of the building, watching the pedestrians and being careful with the items in his hand. He got to the corner where a large concrete block stuck out from the corner of the building and then he sat down on the block. Baekhyun balanced his foot on the skateboard and proceeded to take a large bite of the doughnut. Chanyeol felt his mouth water. The kid chewed and swallowed the mouthful and then washed it down with a large sip from his drink. And then grimaced. The angel chuckled again as the kid opened his mouth.

" _Remember when we used to come here?_ " Chanyeol was surprised. There were a few people passing by and someone might think the kid was talking to them. Or might think the kid was crazy talking to himself. Chanyeol found himself getting angry. " **Baekhyun isn't crazy! How dare they think that! He's beautiful! Wait- what?** " Before the angel had a chance to finish his rambling, the kid spoke again. " _The powdered doughnuts here are the best in the city. I know it's true because you made it your mission to find the best powdered doughnut just for me because that's our favorite kind. We both liked them before we met but after we started hanging out it became our favorite. We usually split one cause they're so big but I'm going to enjoy this one just for you today._ " Chanyeol licked his lips and stared as Baekhyun took another large bite. A tear trickled out of the corner of the kid's eye. " **It must have been too large of a bite.** " thought Chanyeol. " **He always does that and.. Wait- why do I know that?** " The angel was distracted by another grimace as the kid took a large gulp of the drink to wash down the bite he had been chewing. Baekhyun finished the doughnut and drink, then dumped the empty cup and napkin in a large trashcan at the corner of the sidewalk.

Over the next few hours Chanyeol followed as Baekhyun skateboarded around the city. They passed the garage mechanic again, who waved just like the day before. They stopped to look in a large show window of a department store where two male mannequins stood with their arms casually draped around each other. Baekhyun started to tell a story there, starting again with " _Remember when we used to come here?_ " but he stopped talking after he mentioned the store manager had told Baekhyun on the phone that he was "rooting for him". Chanyeol figured the kid knew the manager personally if they talked on the phone.

They stopped at a shoe store where Baekhyun went in and spent a little time looking at the new releases of Converse tennis shoes. Chanyeol watched thru the window as the sales clerk came up and started to get a box of shoes off the top of the shelf but then stopped when the kid put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head. The clerk smiled and then gave Baekhyun a hug. Chanyeol didn't understand why he felt a little jealous over that. But the angel didn't have time to think about this long because they were soon moving on down the sidewalk again.

The kid stopped to talk to a doorman at a familiar looking upscale apartment complex. Chanyeol stood a respectable distance from them, since it looked like they were having a serious conversation. He watched, concerned, as it seemed that Baekhyun was wiping his face a lot at one point, but the doorman patted the kid on the shoulder and they both started laughing, so the angel figured everything was alright. Chanyeol noticed they both took their cell phones out and seemed to exchange phone numbers before parting and the doorman went back to his post. Baekhyun waved goodbye as he rolled away on the skateboard once again.

Chanyeol couldn't help noticing how many people seemed to know the kid. And they all seemed to understand that Baekhyun was skipping school, but none of them fussed at him for it. This seemed strange but Chanyeol couldn't quite think of why. He felt like the answer was just out of his reach.

The angel was starting to feel worn out from following the kid around when they paused at a bus-stop. Just then a bus came rolling up. As they got on and then rode the bus in silence once more Chanyeol admired how the kid seemed to have the bus routes and times memorized. Once again Baekhyun got off the bus at the same stop he did the day before and skateboarded back to his apartment complex. He put the skateboard carefully back into the shed then went into the building, leaving the angel wondering and thinking once again.

The next day the angel followed the kid around the city again. And the next day. And the next day.

By now it had been 5 days in a row. Each day the first stop was always the coffee shop, with the same purchase, the same bell chiming at the door, the same grimace on the kid's face as he took the first sip of the drink. And the angel found he was grinning before the grimace even happened each time. Every day Baekhyun would carefully finish all of the bitter drink and make sure to throw the cup away in a trashcan. 

Chanyeol started to notice more and more about the city surroundings. After leaving the coffee shop they never went to the same places, but he felt like he knew what was coming even before they turned a corner of the bustling city streets.

He knew there would be a pack of about 5 or 6 dogs being walked by the flamboyant dog-walker on a specific street near the park. It didn't surprise him when Baekhyun stopped to greet every dog on each leash before letting the dog-walker lead them away.

The angel knew there would be a policewoman getting ready to write a ticket for a car that had parked illegally in a specific tow-away zone. The car wasn't familiar but the policewoman was, and she evidently knew Baekhyun by the smile and wave she sent his direction as they passed by. 

They stopped to watch a window washer with his mobile washing equipment. Chanyeol knew the window washer would be humming a specific song while he wiped down the excess from the washer fluid on the large store windows. Baekhyun talked out loud about how it was funny the song was "Car Wash" since the stores weren't vehicles. He sang the song a little as they set off again, and Chanyeol couldn't help thinking how pretty the kid's voice was and that he wanted to hear more of Baekhyun singing.

The angel was getting confused. He didn't know why he got anxious waiting to see the kid come out to the shed each morning. He had a thought that these excursions into the city might have to end soon and Baekhyun would go back to school. For some reason this made Chanyeol feel sad.

Every time Baekhyun checked his phone for texts he would look at his screen and a melancholy smile would come over his face before he put in the pass code to open the phone. This also made Chanyeol sad but in a different sort of way that he didn't really understand.

He didn't understand why he was starting to feel jealous of the people that were giving Baekhyun hugs. They weren't being perverted but Chanyeol didn't want them touching the kid so much. 

And he also didn't understand why he was so frustrated that he couldn't touch the soft hair of the kid as it bounced and glistened in the sunlight. All of these things were beginning to really make his head hurt. And he didn't understand why his head was hurting if he was an angel. Wasn't he not supposed to have any pain now that he was in the afterlife? Chanyeol was confused.

That afternoon before they got onto another bus, Baekhyun stopped at the park again. This was the first time they had come back to the same bench at the park since the first day Chanyeol had started following the kid.

The angel watched as Baekhyun sat down on the bench. He propped the skateboard to the side and then leaned over to the far left. Chanyeol smiled, knowing the reason behind the other's actions, but his smile quickly went away when the kid began to quietly sob as tho in pain. The angel was confused because he didn't remember Baekhyun having gotten hurt in any way the entire week they had been going to the city together. Chanyeol watched, feeling helpless as the kid bent over on the bench, holding his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking from the intensity of his cries. He slowly curled up in a ball on the bench, his hands placed down on the bench directly under his head. The angel noticed the palms were placed downward and as he continued to cry Baekhyun seemed to be patting that specific area of the wood where initials were carved. The pain in Chanyeol's head seemed to be getting stronger as he tried to figure out what was wrong with the kid. He wanted to make Baekhyun happy again so badly. He thought back through their activities from the day to see if he could remember anything that might help him understand what was going on. But his jumbled thoughts were interrupted when Baekhyun began to speak through his tears. 

" _I wish- I wish y-you would rem-member.._ " Chanyeol was surprised that the first words of this story were different from the others Baekhyun had been telling all week. " _I really w-wish you would.. They told me you would w-wake up when you remember..! They told me..! The doctor said he's not allowed to lie about this stuff.. He- he said you would wake up when you remember everything.. You wouldn't forget what we've done would you? You wouldn't forget me would you?!_" By this point the angel felt frantic in his despair at not being able to help the upset kid. Chanyeol's head hurt so much he almost couldn't stand it. But the crying boy kept talking as his tears continued to fall. " _Why don't you remember already?! Why?! I miss you so much! I can't go on without you but you don't remember yet!! They told me you would remember..!_" The sweet boy's grief was so overwhelming that Chanyeol felt like he might pass out. It occurred to him that angels weren't capable of passing out, so this was definitely a strange thing. He struggled to keep his concentration on the shaking form in front of him but felt himself drifting a bit. Chanyeol heard a strange beeping noise, then suddenly there was a metallic pinging noise and the angel watched as Baekhyun pulled his cellphone out and wiped his eyes to look at the message on the screen. Suddenly the kid gasped and his tears seemed to come to a halt. He sat up straight on the bench. Chanyeol's head hurt so badly he was having trouble concentrating and the world around him seemed to be blurry now. Baekhyun punched in his pass code with trembling hands and gripped the phone tightly as he swiped the screen with a shaky finger. He stared at the screen. Chanyeol could barely keep his eyes open but he saw the most beautiful smile in the world on the tear-stained face of the sweet boy on the bench. The skateboard clattered to the side as the kid stood up suddenly on wobbly legs.

The angel heard Baekhyun's delighted yell as the world went black " **CHANYEOL!** " 

The repetitive beeping sound wasn't from any alarm clock he was used to. But at least his head wasn't hurting like it had before. Chanyeol opened his eyes and blinked. Everything was white in his line of sight.

This was a different sort of white than when he first went to the afterlife but he didn't know where he was. It occurred to him that he didn't feel weightless like he did before either.

" **Something.. happened..** "

His own voice felt foreign to hear out loud but he didn't have time to dwell on that when the sound of someone chuckling at his side caught his attention. " **It sure did...** " 

Chanyeol lifted his head up slowly from where he was lying and looked towards the person talking. 

" **You gave us quite a scare there young man.. Welcome back!** " The doctor was smiling broadly but keeping his voice quiet as he spoke.

" **Uhh.. thanks? I guess..** " Chanyeol's voice was raspy and he cleared his throat noisily.

The doctor made shushing noises in warning and helped the patient drink from a cup of water, then spoke quietly again as he pointed across the room. " **He's been staying here every night and usually refuses to sleep. You might want to give your boyfriend a chance to finish this nap.** " 

Chanyeol looked over to where the doctor was pointing. His heart suddenly felt like it would beat out of his chest. He couldn't help the strangled sob that jumped from his throat and he quickly covered his mouth with his hand, unintentionally pulling the IV tube with it. The action made the mechanical beeping change and become louder, and the sleeping form on the small sofa jumped up, groggy but panicked. " **Chanyeol!** " 

Chanyeol looked at the kid through the tears in his eyes, his mouth trembling in a fight between a smile and a sob. Suddenly there was a flurry of movement and the doctor stepped back to allow Chanyeol to welcome the sobbing and laughing human into his arms. As they embraced, the doctor discretely turned off the alarms to the IV machine, and then stepped out of the room. 

Chanyeol leaned his face into the soft hair and breathed in deeply with a satisfied smile. " **Baekhyun..** " 

The hospital staff were all enamored with the cute young couple in the last room down the hallway of the ICU ward. The patient would be transferred to a room on the 4th floor soon. He was expected to make a full recovery from a head injury he incurred when he hit his head during a nasty fall down some stairs at school the week before. The fall had resulted in a severe concussion and swelling on the brain, so the doctor had made the difficult decision to put him in a temporary coma to help the swelling diminish and the injury heal faster. He was kept in the Intensive Care Unit and closely monitored for any changes, since his body would be allowed to wake up on it's own when it had healed enough. 

Every single night after the patient had been admitted to the hospital, his boyfriend would come by and politely greet everyone at the nurses station, then go down the hallway to the last room in the unit. He would stay all night by the bedside, talking, singing, and reading quietly out loud. All the nurses doted on the cute little boyfriend and would offer to get him food but he always declined politely saying he had just come right after eating dinner so he wasn't hungry. Although it was technically against protocol to allow visitors to stay all night in the ICU rooms, the doctor had made an exception for the devoted couple, recognizing the determination and dedication of the smaller boy. Nurses noted the patient's parents and sister came to visit regularly during the days and the patient's vital signs would remain just slightly elevated during their visits. But when the boyfriend came each evening the patient's vital signs would always spike a bit then quickly settle to a comfortable normal level and remain that way throughout the night. The kid would leave early every morning and go home to sleep for a few hours, and then come back the next evening to repeat the same process.

One of the nurses got the kid to tell her why he was skipping school. It turns out that after the horrible fall, the rumor had quickly gone around the school that Chanyeol had died, and Baekhyun simply couldn't handle all the pressure from the other students. They all pitied him and talked and gossiped about the fall and how horrible it all was and how Baekhyun must be hurting so much that it was stressing him out more, and he didn't want that. He wanted to stay strong for his boyfriend. So he went and had a chat with the principal, and then a phone call was made to his parents. Baekhyun was an exemplary student, so it was agreed his studies wouldn't be hurt much from a couple weeks off from school.

Just over a week after Chanyeol woke up, he was sitting in a wheelchair and holding Baekhyun's hand as a nurse pushed the chair out of the hospital doors to a waiting car. Chanyeol's father sat in the driver's seat, grinning as Chanyeol's mother and Baekhyun fussed over him and helped him get into the back seat of the vehicle.

" **I'm fine! I'm fine..!**" Chanyeol protested as he swatted at his mother's hands.

" **Yes you are!**" Baekhyun wiggled his eyebrows and grinned at his boyfriend suggestively.

Chanyeol guffawed and relented, finally letting his mother fasten his seatbelt before she leaned back out from the doorway. " **Save that for later when you're alone Sweetie..!** " she giggled, pinching Baekhyun's cheek briefly before opening the front passenger's door and getting in the vehicle. The blush on both boyfriend's faces matched as Baekhyun closed the car door then trotted around and got in the other side in the back seat beside Chanyeol. Their hands immediately found each other's and their fingers intertwined as the car pulled away from the hospital.

The trees of the park came into view and Chanyeol's father spoke up. " **Hey look, the dog walker seems to have some extra dogs with him today..!** "

" **Oh really? How many does he usually have? I can't remember..** " Chanyeol's mother asked.

Chanyeol spoke up." **I remember..** " He smiled at his boyfriend then lifted their joined hands and kissed Baekhyun's hand sweetly. " **I remember everything.**"

* * * * * * * * * 

**Author's Note:**

> Please forgive the angst - I usually don't like angst myself, but this story flowed out of me and I couldn't help it. I decided to give the trigger warnings because of the scene towards the end, but I tried to make up for it and it doesn't end in angst so.. yeah. 
> 
> Upvotes and comments are appreciated, and kindness even more so. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! 


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